Rukminee talked about her days in NID, how she was an unambitious sort and felt like a misfit. Instead of demoralizing her, the teachers there always encouraged her; eventually this led her to find her passion in book design. Reading her account, she spoke about the time she chose to work with print media over the lucrative digital media; she would make just about enough to survive but was satisfied with the work. Rukminee wears several hats in the most prosaic way. She does not believe in making plans, her last plan being studying at NID. She spoke about how she briefly worked under Orijit Sen, whose work inspired her immensely in the Virasat-e-Khalsa project. Another project she shared was the documentation of the crafts of Chhattisgarh for the book ‘Crafts of India’. Rukminee recently curated Zones of Privacy, possibly the first of its kind show in India of artists’ notebooks and sketchbooks, where we get more than a glimpse into their personal thoughts and explorations.

Rukminee believes in taking life as it comes, remaining behind the scenes, taking it slow, without plans, going with the flow, yet remaining extremely efficient: this approach has helped her do exceptionally well in her chosen path. Design is her way of life.

Written by Aseem Arya

Right from carving forms out of wooden blocks to printing, every garment created at Poochki comes with a unique narrative. The USP of the brand is such that each piece of apparel has a story which is backed up by a well thought process of block making, dyeing, printing and weaving. Simultaneously, the label sports an innovative and ingenious look and feel. While Ishanee and Anirudh use traditional fabrics, the cuts, silhouettes and prints add an extremely modern touch to the garments. Poochki aims to cater to women across all age groups looking for a high quality range of casual and comfortable garments.

We found two specially interesting aspects about their work. One, instead of following the traditional route of picking up blocks of the butti and butta shape, Ishanee and Anirudh derive their inspiration from flora and fauna we are surrounded by in our lives. Geckos, wasps, hedgehogs and fish are all subjects for the blocks they carve out inspired by these forms. The other notable aspect of their designs is that they resonate with the lifestyle changes that are taking place in today’s world. In a market where a woman is made to feel embarrassed asking for a larger size, it makes perfect sense to provide a range of clothing that is anti fit.

The young Indian woman is increasingly becoming open to accepting the imperfections of her body and willing to project herself the way she is and be proud of it. Pookchi has responded to these changes and built their label with bravado, in the choice of cut, motifs, patterns and print.

Written by Ruma Dhingra

Raj Ayyar was the fourth to present at our Forum. His holistic viewpoint to critical and creative thinking came through in intriguing and thought-provoking topics. The audience was enlightened to perceive the world in fresh ways. Raj spoke about everydayness, where people get entangled in their daily lives and forget to think beyond. His simple suggestion that every morning we scribble down our thoughts to clear our mental blocks helps to question ourselves and adopt new ways of doing things – by breaking the mundane and the obvious.

Raj pointed out how every individual has a different perception of the world and it is important to remember that there is nothing wrong or right in having varying  perspectives. He expanded on “PO thinking”, a very interesting way of thinking beyond. Most of us stick to Yes and No – instead, could we think of PO i.e. more possible options? By choosing this path in both our personal and professional life, one may learn how to approach situations very differently.

He also spoke about stereotypes, a universal ugly truth – how people habitually judge others without really getting to know them. People rush to stereotype and look down upon others – sometimes on racial and religious grounds  – thus shelving themselves and avoiding conversations. By this, we close the window that opens the vista to know another as we have already categorized them in mental boxes. An open and receptive attitude to other viewpoints, can avoid this kind of compartmentalizing.

All the topics Raj spoke made the audience think about their behavior patterns. The session was wonderful and very refreshing. We definitely wish to invite Dr Raj for more such enriching sessions.

Written by Ankita Singh

During her early days of working as a textile designer, Gopika was inspired by forms in the environment and tried bring in those elements through her weaving style. She then started designing saris. Soon she realized the craftsperson was not enabled to transform what she was imagining into reality, due to restrictions of traditional techniques of printing. Thus began Gopika’s journey of exploration to reach a milestone that she will always be known for, i.e. bringing hand painted saris to India. Working in this manner gave her immense freedom and became a form of her expression. However, her journey was not easy as we are in an era where hand crafted goods are no longer valued. At one juncture, one of her clients reinforced this need for struggle – how artists must suffer before they triumph – giving succour to Gopika’s chosen path.

Gopika’s presentation was special for the way it spoke about her work – which has very strong character – and the manner in which we could experience her journey through time. In her work, one sees the courage to express positive as well as negative states of minds through art. Very clearly, her presentation recapitulated her journey from a designer to an artist. Gopika recalled how she went back to the drawing board for two years to derive inspiration for her embroidery. Gradually, she found her ideation in the complexities of her own mind reflected through mundane objects. Symbolic expressions such as the piercing needle is expressed in her works. Another recent exploration of hers is a series of artworks created from stains left by tea, making impressions about the imperfections and complexities of human life. Gopika’s work is extremely courageous and she does not shy away from showcasing the truth through her art. As she says, “We are 85 percent water and water is supposed to flow; why then should we not be allowed to flow like an ocean and let ourselves be comfortable with our imperfections and flaws?”

Written by Ruma Dhingra

Sibanand talked about how artisans work in isolation and this can be difficult for their progress. The challenge lies in finding ways to integration. Based out of Bhubaneshwar in Odisha, Collective Craft tries to bring together craftsmen from various parts of India to come up with shared skills. These collaborations take place at their residential school. Initially, the collective concentrated on projects that involved making products and one was at Krishi Bhawan, Ministry of Agriculture, Government of Odisha. Amongst a series of installations, the ‘farmer’s calendar’ was very special as it made connections with agricultural practice. Most crafts people work as part time farmers and this is a visual calendar with a festival associated with each month that depicts a farmer’s life over the course of the year.

From their initial work in making products, the group moved to doing architecture. The studio hosts skilled people like brick masons and carpenters as these skill-sets are also facing a crisis with the advent of modern construction techniques. Sibanand stressed on practical issues like the unavailability of raw material and how this affects poor craftspersons. In their architectural projects, the collective is specifically trying to revive the vernacular construction style.

Written by Aseem Arya

The restaurant, lodging, an infinity pool and other spaces were built at various levels working around site conditions. Large stones were not removed, instead the spaces were designed around them. The location of the Infinity pool was selected at site rather than making the decision on the drawing board. After making multiple visits over many seasons, the architects found the vantage point that would capture the perfect view over the infinity edge. This can easily be seen as the USP of the project. Other residential projects in Udaipur and Noida involved looking at the true nature of materials to develop the design and also work closely with local artisans in design development and execution.

The architects also enjoy working with light and shadow to bring a unique character into spaces. Often in renovation or adaptive reuse projects, the duo tries to salvage what comes out from the existing site, or other unused items, to turn it around into art installations. Looking at the overall approach towards these multiple aspects of design was refreshing and inspiring.

Written by Anshul Kapoor

The first one was about his journey as a child from Ahmedabad to who he is today and certain milestones that shaped him not only as a designer but as a person. His father was a block-maker at NID, and Anthony spent many days of his childhood in the printing department at the Institute. Consequently, he knew NID inside out, much before he joined as a student. After completing the program, he worked at an advertising firm for 6 months. Very soon, he decided to start his own practice. It was captivating to hear Anthony’s story from his initial start-up with a peer group from NID to his successful entrepreneurial efforts with Lopez Design, his own studio. The room was filled with a sense of awe after he ended his story. For those who had just started on their career paths, it was an eye-opening experience to hear about how he overcame his challenges.

Anthony’s second presentation was one of several major environment branding projects that Lopez Design has done for Mercer. Lopez Design’s approach towards branding environments is not to simply project the company’s logo and corporate colours on the walls of its offices; it is a deep conceptual exercise into understanding what a particular organization’s ideals are and what motivates its employees. For Mercer Noida, the concept of the Tree of Life was chosen. This involved making mammoth illustrations etched on wood spanning entire walls of 3 floors of the office space. The rationale behind this was how to break away from feeling that as an employee of a multinational company you are just “one of the two thousand”. The challenge therefore was how to make each employee feel, where he sat was special. He was not just a number, he was just not sitting at desk number 1539 – he was a person with his own unique space near the root of the Mercer Tree.

The concept was amazing, and brought a completely different perspective to what branding an office space feels like!

Written by Manav Dhiman